Cartoons of the Week

Cathy Wilcox

Peter Broelman

Matt Golding

Fiona Katauskas

 

Tweet of the Week

 

Breaking: Girard state forest defended!
A NSW blockade on Jukembal land today to prevent the logging of native forest. https://t.co/KGBFI2mtWd
Girard state forest is one of the last significant wildlife corridors between the Border Ranges NP and Bundjalung NP#worthmorestanding pic.twitter.com/JCPFxn09Xd

— Australian Forests and Climate Alliance (@AFCA_Forests) April 26, 2022

 

Australian Federal Election 2022: and the economic outlook gets gloomier for us all

Bottom line, cost of living and other economic pressures are not going to ease anytime soon, with almost half of all businesses now passing on cost increases to customers.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), media release, 28 April 2022:

Source: Business Conditions and Sentiments, April 2022

More than half (57 per cent) of all businesses experienced increases in the cost of doing business over the three months to April 2022, with almost a quarter (21 per cent) reporting costs had increased to a great extent, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Consistent with the results from March, most of these businesses had seen increases to the cost of fuel or energy (83 per cent) and the cost of products or services used by the business (82 per cent).

ABS Head of Industry Statistics, John Shepherd, said: “More than half of the businesses with higher costs (52 per cent) did not increase their prices. For those that did increase prices, 42 per cent had partially passed on costs and 6 per cent had fully passed on the increases to customers.”

Businesses also provided information about other actions they had taken in response to increased business costs.

“Over a third (39 per cent) of businesses had made changes to their operations or processes and 17 per cent had renegotiated payment terms with customers and suppliers,” Mr Shepherd said.

The results also provided information about business staffing levels. One in five businesses (18 per cent) did not have enough staff in April 2022, consistent with findings in January 2022.

More than four in five businesses (84 per cent) with staff shortages were unable to find suitable staff, rising from 69 per cent in January. Uncertainty due to COVID-19 was less likely to be an influence on staffing levels (36 per cent compared to 62 per cent in January).

Further information, as well as insights into supply chain, are included in Business Conditions and Sentiments. 

Second Term of the 2022 academic year, education still disrupted for students in flood damaged Northern Rivers schools

 

Across the Northern Rivers region this week Term 2 began for primary and high school students.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 April 2022:

Flood-hit schools face years of disruption

...it will be anything but business as usual for many students in the Northern Rivers. The devastating floods that hit the region in February caused mass disruptions and meant thousands of children missed weeks of in-person learning. For many students, school won’t return to normal for months, or even years, after the floods forced classes off-site for the foreseeable future.

Nine public schools in the region were significantly damaged and earmarked for rebuilding along with several Catholic and independent schools, and many more were damaged. At Lismore’s Trinity Catholic College, which has almost 1000 students, all but eight rooms were inundated by floodwaters and the damage bill is expected to top tens of millions of dollars.

Universities and community groups have opened their doors to displaced students.

At Lismore’s Trinity Catholic College, which has almost 1000 students, every room but eight was inundated with water and the damage bill was expected to top tens of millions of dollars.

Trinity Catholic College in Lismore was almost completely destroyed by floods.

Read the full article here.

Australian Federal Election 2022: inflation and cost of living a live issue 23 days out from polling day

Australia recorded its largest quarterly & annual inflation increase in 21 years in the first Quarter of 2022.

The Cost of Living Index (CPI) rose 2.1 per cent cent in March 2022 quarter and 5.1 per cent annually - again largest annual change in 21 years. 

That 5.1 per cent exceeds the 2021 annual rate of 3.5 per cent, as well as the overly optimistic projected inflation figure of 4.5 to 4.6 per cent floated by some economists for the March quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, media release, 27 April 2022, excepts:

The most significant contributors to the rise in the March quarter CPI were new dwellings (+5.7 per cent), automotive fuel (+11.0 per cent) and tertiary education (+6.3 per cent)…..

Notable rises were also recorded across the food group (+2.8 per cent), reflecting high transport, fertiliser, packaging and ingredient costs, as well as COVID-related disruptions and herd restocking due to favourable weather. Main contributors to the rise in food prices included vegetables (+6.6 per cent), waters, soft drinks and juices (+5.6 per cent), fruit (+4.9 per cent) and beef (+7.6 per cent)…..

The grocery component of the group, which excludes meals out and takeaway foods, rose 4.0 per cent in the March quarter." Ms Marquardt said.

Prices for other grocery items, such as non-durable household products (+6.7 per cent), which includes products such as toilet paper and paper towels, also rose in the March quarter….

The price of goods (+6.6 per cent) rose more strongly through the year than that of services (+3.0 per cent)…..

It appears that cost of living increase is now running significantly ahead of wages growth in Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's one-off election campaign bribe of $250 for eligible Centrelink/DVA recipients won't even touch the edges of the yawning gap which has developed between income and costs due to the broad base of rising prices. In fact the positive impact of this so-called Cost of Living Payment is unlikely to last beyond polling day in many low-income family households.

$312 million roads funding boost. It's a little being asked to go a long way in flood ravaged regional NSW, but it's still good news

 Approaches to Main Arm, NSW, March 2022

IMAGE: Byron Shire Council

IMAGE: ABC News

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Byron Shire Council, media release, 22 April 2022:

Byron Shire to share in $312 million roads funding boost

Byron Shire Mayor, Michael Lyon, has welcomed the news of the Australian and NSW Governments’ $312 million Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Package saying it will have long-lasting benefits for communities in the Byron Shire.

Mayor Lyon this week met the NSW Minister for Regional Roads and Transport, Sam Farraway, and other Mayors and Members of Parliament in Lismore, to hear details of the funding package and to discuss the way forward in relation to the repair and rebuilding of roads and infrastructure in the Northern Rivers.

“This joint funding from the Australian and NSW Governments will go a long way to ensuring our roads and bridges are not just rebuilt, but they will be to a standard that will better withstand future floods,” Mayor Lyon said.

“The term people use for this is ‘betterment’ – which in the context of a natural disaster is the process of building a damaged road or bridge back better than its original condition prior to the event,” he said.

“This is about building resilience into our road network which is a very encouraging development, it is something European countries do very well, spending money on prevention, rather than recovery.

“Traditionally, the State Government would only fund the restoration of an asset, leaving the cost of any identified improvements which could mitigate damage in a future event to Council.

“Given Council’s usually stretched financial situation, these improvements rarely, if ever, got funded.

“We have been lobbying for years for the idea of betterment to be funded as part of the recovery from a natural disaster, because it makes sense and it saves dollars in the long run as well as minimising disruption caused by these events,” Mayor Lyon said.

“The meeting with Minister Farraway, NSW Transport officials, local Members of Parliament, Mayors and General Managers was most valuable as we talked through how we can most effectively respond to the enormous rebuilding challenge before us and ensure that we have a coordinated, regional approach, given we are all competing in some way for the same resources.

“Minister Farraway has visited the region several times since the first flood and it has been impressive to know he listened to our concerns around betterment, the need for it and then to effectively lobby on behalf of our region and come up with a result for our community.

“It sets a good precedent for the future and our ability to be resilient in the face of the expected increased frequency of natural disasters.

“Simon Richardson, our previous Mayor, was very good at recognising the desire in other people to do good things, irrespective of their political flag and he was able to obtain funding for our area through this approach.

“I intend to seek to emulate this approach with the intention being to secure as much funding as possible for the benefit of our residents and businesses.

“The recovery in the Byron Shire, and in the Northern Rivers, is going to be a long, slow process, and it’s going to test everyone.

“This sort of financial package takes some of the pressure off and for this I am very thankful,” Mayor Lyon said.

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Palmwoods Road Reconstruction
March 2022
IMAGE: Byron Shire Council

Candidates standing in Page Electorate at 21 May 2022 Federal General Election - Part 5. One major party & 5 minor parties reviewed

 

Liberal Democratic Party (LNP) – registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) in September 2007.

This is a political party which for the purposes of progressing itself is blatantly chasing the “freedoms” vote, with its “Policy One” of eight policies listed being “FREEDOM FROM COVID ALARMISM”. A document not updated since 2021 and redolent with the echo of that motley collection of white supremacist, QAnon, anti-vaccination and other conspiracy theory nutters who rallied and protested during 2020 and 2021.

It is not considered a parliamentary party as it had no elected member as at March-April 2022.

It appears to be standing 16 candidates for Senate positions and 101 candidates for House of Representatives seats.

PAGE candidate: Thomas Searles

The Australian Federation Party (FED) – although this party was first registered by the AEC in 2011, by 2022 it was firmly in the ‘freedoms’ camp of anti-public health measures resistance spawned by that same motley collection of white supremacist, QAnon, anti-vaccination and other conspiracy theory nutters who gave us collective action such as this:

Video from today’s #freedomday protest. Anti-lockdown protesters with police hot on their tails at Elwood Beach. Melbourne. Victoria. #melbournelockdown #WWG1WWGA pic.twitter.com/glMj8YJRi4

— precursor (@occupy_now) September 19, 2020

The party has subsequently dressed up in smart suits and penned fine words, however it remains a largely untested entity.

It is not considered a parliamentary party as it had no elected member as at March-April 2022.

FED is standing 47 candidates at the 21 May federal election – 11 for Senate positions and 38 for House of Representatives seats.

PAGE candidate: Heather Smith

United Australia Party (UAP) – registered by the AEC in 2018. The brain child of rather notorious mining magnate Clive Palmer who as the leader of the Palmer United Party was a rather desultory member of the Australian House of Representatives for one term marked by his absences – retiring prior to the 2016 federal election.

Currently he is standing for a Senate position representing Queensland.

He is using what is alleged to be his personal wealth to run 22 Senate candidates and 151 House of Representative candidates in the 21 May federal election. Although rather oddly, the party’s official list of candidates seems to number 152.

This is a classic disruptor party, out to “Make Australia Great Again” because there is a need for “freedoms” - with at least one notable Trump-QAnon-Antivaxx supporter in its ranks, Craig Kelly.

It is considered a parliamentary party as it had one member as at March-April 2022 - Craig Kelly being elected in 2019 as the Liberal Party MP for Hume but resigning in February 2021 and, moving to the cross benches until joining the UAP in August 2021.

PAGE candidate: Ian Williamson

TNL – register by the AEC in March 2022. Has approximately 1,527 members. It coyly insists on reminding the general public that it was formerly “The New Liberals”, a party formally deregistered on 7 December 2021 in part based on the potential for name confusion with the Liberal Party. 

On 13 March 2021 it rather quixotically sought to have the Liberal Party of Australia deregistered. 

Presidency and leadership of the party appears to be a family affair.

It is not considered a parliamentary party as it had no elected member as at March-April 2022.

TNL is fielding 19 candidates at the 21 May federal election – 7 for Senate positions and 12 for House of Representatives seats.

PAGE candidate: Serge Killingbeck

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (ONP) – registered by AEC in 2004. A political party with an unashamedly resentful, far right and racist worldview plucked straight from the ugly underbelly of 1950s Australia.

It is a parliamentary party as it had two elected members as at March-April 2022.

One Nation is standing 9 candidates for Senate positions and 69 candidates in the House of Representatives in the 21 May federal election.

PAGE candidate: Donna Pike

National Party of Australia (NSW) (NAT) – registered by the AEC in 1984. 

A party which has proudly followed a regressive policy path of cronyism, isolationism, environmental vandalism and what, in practice, has been crude climate change denialism which left Australia vulnerable to the worst climate change impacts.

It was also a party which during the 26 months to date of the global pandemic has been in favour of doing the bare minimum when it came to the public health response and which did not favour lockdowns - with some MPS quietly muttering about individual freedom.

The AEC lists it as a parliamentary party, having 7 NSW MPs out of the 9 National Party elected members in the House of Representatives (the remaining 2 are from Victoria) and 1 NSW Senator out of the 3 Nationals in the Senate (the remaining 2 are from Qld & Vic) as at March-April 2022.

It is fielding 11 NSW candidates - 1 for a Senate position and 8 in the House of Representatives, as Coalition partner to the Liberal Party of Australia.

PAGE candidate: Kevin Hogan